7pm at Barton Street Branch: 571 Bartons Street East
If a coworker, family member or friend told you they had been assaulted, would you know how to respond? This interactive session will get participants thinking through the best ways of supporting people we love who have experienced sexual abuse.

For the Ancaster workshop please register ahead of time by calling – 905-648-6911.

Join Julie Lalonde for an interactive presentation looking at tangible ways that we can prevent sexual violence at bars and parties. Participants will leave with concrete tools and resources to help them be effective bystanders.

Julie S. Lalonde is an Ottawa-based feminist activist and women’s right advocate. Julie has won numerous awards for her work, including being named a recipient of the “Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case” (2013), a “Driver of Change” by MTV, and 2013’s “Best Volunteer in a Leading Role” by Volunteer Ottawa.

We understand that within the last month, you’ve been facing a lot of criticism about a sexual violence in the military. We also understand that your initial reaction to this criticism might be to say, “#NotAllSoldiers.”

Let us be clear: The criticism you are facing is not directed at any one member of the Forces, but rather a culture that permits, excuses, and minimizes the experience of sexual assault and harassment in the military.

You’ve been given an opportunity by Madame Deschamps’s report to challenge and change this culture. Indeed, it is the CAF’s opportunity to go above and beyond the ‘call of duty’ that she laid out in her report. The proven benefits of prevention are founded in its ability to address the normalization and minimization of sexual violence. Through the consistent challenging of sexist attitudes and violent behaviour, a culture which permits sexual violence will be eliminated. Without direct, decisive, and consistent action a culture of violence will continue to thrive. The CAF also needs to take steps to truly believe survivors and provide adequate support when violence does occur. Transformation can only occur by:

1. Calling sexual violence what it is. This is a not “pressing desires,” it is not “biological wiring.” Even the language of “sexual misconduct” minimizes the severity of what we are talking about. Sexual violence is an inexcusable exercise of power which is meant to dehumanize and violate another person’s human rights. Continue reading

One in four women report being sexually harassed in the workplace. The Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centre’s video asks what you think and where you draw the line when it comes to workplace harassment:

Take, for example, the scenario where a friend sends you a naked picture of a girl he knows. Posing questions such as, Is it a big deal to share it with others?, the campaign aims to help people understand why it is important to draw the line on sexual violence, when to do so, and how to intervene safely and effectively.

Efforts are currently underway at a number of organizations across Ontario to expand the initial Draw the Line campaign. This includes outreach, translation of campaign posters and postcards into multiple languages, and the creation of new resources to address the range of sexual violence issues that exist in different communities (e.g., Aboriginal, elderly, ethno-cultural, immigrant & refugee, LGBT, women with disabilities).

At Newcomer Centre of Peel in Mississauga, outreach has targeted newcomer youth who take part in their Community Connections Youth programming. On May 10th, an event was organized around the above scenario, and allowed youth to contemplate whether or not it is a big deal to share a naked photo with others. This question sparked a two hour discussion that was facilitated by youth mentors, and that addressed issues such as consent, healthy vs. unhealthy relationships, online sexual harassment, and the possession and distribution of child pornography. Youth were also able to share and learn about ways that they could “draw the line” – for example, by deleting the photo and refusing to send it to others, calling a friend out, or reporting it to a trusted adult or authority figure.

Draw-the-Line campaign materials, including posters, post cards and a guidebook are available on the website free of charge.